Ties for the third round of the Vitality Women’s FA Cup draw have been announced, with plenty of highstakes drama set for the 11 December as Championship sides enter the fray.
Twenty teams across the North and another 20 across the South were pooled into 10 ties respectively live on TalkSport2 on Monday evening.
Below, the Mirror selects some of the top ties to look out for from each division. A list of the draw in full can be found at the bottom.
North:
Leeds United v Stoke City
In the North, Division One North’s Leeds United will face Northern Premier Division Stoke City. Leeds currently sit fourth in a league below Stoke, but sprung a shock defeat on Stoke’s league rivals Brighouse Town, who sit two places above the Potters with 15 points in hand, when the Phoenix knocked the Northern Premier side out of the FA Cup on penalties in the first-round.
A simple 7-2 dispatching of Redcar Town Ladies in the second round followed.
Meanwhile, Stoke City dramatically defeated league rivals Derby County in the first-round on penalties and followed it up with a 3-1 victory over Loughborough Lightning to book their place in the third-round.
Liverpool Feds v West Brom Albion
Liverpool Feds ran up a 4-0 victory over local rivals Merseyrail in the FA Cup second-round to secure them a spot in the third round. The Division One North leaders will now host West Brom Albion, who sit eighth in the Northern Premier division and are riding an 8-0 rout of Lichfield City from the second round.
Newcastle United v Wolverhampton Wanderers
A rousing pre-match speech from part-owner Amanda Staveley proved to be powerful enough to fire Newcastle United Women into the third-round after a 2-1 comeback victory over Barnsley and it might be needed again. The Magpies are set for a third-round tie against Northern Premier leaders Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Wolves shipped five past Northampton Town to reach this stage. But Newcastle, who sit three points behind Division One North leaders Liverpool Feds, are eyeing silverware.
South
Bristol City Women v Southampton FC Women
Bristol City Women might feel hard done with a first FA Cup tie set against fellow Southern Premier leaders Southampton FC but it makes for a juicy third-round clash for the Championship leaders. Both are eyeing promotion from their respective leagues and the boon of an additional piece of silverware will be surely be calling.
Lewes FC v Southampton Women FC / London Bees
Championship outfit Lewes FC will host the winner of the FA Cup second-round clash between Southern Premier side London Bees and Division One South West’s Southampton Women FC (different to Southampton FC Women). Lewes are relishing a three-match winning streak in the league and while promotion is not out of reach – they sit seven points behind leaders London City – a deep Cup run is high on the priority list.
Charlton Athletic Women v MK Dons
Charlton Athletic will host Southern Premier’s Milton Keynes Dons in the FA third-round. The Championship outfit sits fourth in the table, just four points behind leaders London City and are riding successive wins in the league heading into the clash. Meanwhile, MK Dons narrowly defeated London and South East regional side Worthing FC Women 3-2 to reach the third round.
Ties will be played on Sunday 11 December, winning teams receive £10,000 and losing teams £2.500 from the prize fund.
Women's FA Cup third-round draw in full:
North
- Coventry United v Stockport County
- Burnley v Norwich City
- Peterborough United v Durham
- Leeds United v Stoke City
- Birmingham City v Huddersfield Town
- Blackburn Rovers v Sunderland
- Liverpool Feds v West Bromwich Albion
- Sheffield United v Nottingham Forest
- Newcastle United v Wolverhampton Wanderers
- Solihull Moors v AFC Fylde
South
- Cardiff City v Bournemouth Sports
- Bristol City v Southampton FC Women
- AFC Wimbledon v Gillingham
- Hashtag United v Actonians
- Crystal Palace v Watford or Crawley Wasps
- Lewes v Southampton Women FC or London Bees
- Ipswich Town v Portishead Town
- London City Lionesses v Portsmouth
- Charlton Athletic v Milton Keynes Dons
- Liskeard Athletic or Oxford United v Plymouth Argyle
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